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nrin- "rams i arsrrr TO EUGENE V. JOHNSON,

OF \VASITHNGTOX, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

METHOD OF TREATING AND ORNAMENTING PYROXYUNE CE MPOUNDS.

sPncIrrcAa-IoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,811, dated Aprils, 1887.

A pplicalitm filed May 26, 1886. Serial No. 203,307. (X specimens) To, all whom it may concern:

Be it known that}, JOHN A. llICCLELLANl'), a citizen of the United $tates of America, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and'useful Improvements in the Method of Treating and 'Ornamenting Pyroxylinc Cour pounds; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the x0 invention, such as will enable others skilled in 1 the art to which it a-ppertains to make and use the same. My invention relates to certain new and ful improvements in the art of decorating arti- I cles made of pyroxyline dissolved in camphor or other gum, generically termed celluloids, the purpose of such decoration being to produce an imitation of the grain of ivory or other natural products, as well as to prozo-duce figures or other designs upon the surface of the celluloid. 3

Ithas been a source of expensive and laborious experiment since theintroduction of celluloid as an article of commerce to manufac- 2 5 ture the same in such a way as more closely to resemble ivory. Up to the present time, so far as- I am aware, it has not been found practicable to produce this imitation of ivory except by a markc making the material. Various methods to accomplish the desired result have been sug gested, differing very little from each other, so that the following description of a process now in use will serve to explain, generally, all the processes iuvoguc for the purpose: The pyroxyline, in the course of its manufacture into celluloid, has added to it a certain quantity of oxide ofzinc or other suitable coloring-mattcr; but different quantities of celluloid are provided with difierent proportions of the coloring-niatter, and thus the separate quantities will have difi'erent tints. After receiving the composition from the roll, small sheets are shaved off each composition and placed npoirachother in alternate layers of lighter and darker celluloid.

necessary to apply a small quantity of camphor or alcohol, or both, to the sur ace of the sheets to insure their proper adhesion. The 5 mass thus arranged is put into dicsl or presses It is generally foundv d increase in the expense of and pressed into a compact cake. After the mass has hardened sufficiently sh ects of greater or less thickness are out transversely from the cake, which sheets will be found to present a grain resembling ivory very nearly as much as it resembles the grain of other natural products. The foregoing process is sometimes varied by tinting the surface of the various layers before pressing into a cake, in place of providing layers of various shades. This expensive, laborious, and, at the best, unsatisfactory method of procedure has been adopted principally because it seemed impossible to discover any means for applying an imitation of grain to the celluloid after its manufacture. lthas been impossible to tint the surfacein the necessary well-defined lines with lhense. of any known coloring-matter, for, although it might be successfully applied to the surface, it could not be prevented from spreading nor made permanent.

I have discovered a simple and effective way of decorating the surface of celluloid, so as to produce an imitation of the grain of ivory, as well as any other design of any re- 5 quircd tint, which shall be permanent and yet shall not injure the article by softening or. indenting the same. Y

My invention consists, broadly, in the treatment of the surface of celluloid when the same contains a coloriu g-matter-such as oxide of zinc-with an acid having the property of dissolving or otherwise changing the coloringmatter. This acid is preferably nitric acid or sulphuric acid, or a combination of both, sufficiently diluted. When applied to celluloid having oxide of zinc as a. coloringmatter, the acid will dissolve and abstract the oxide of zinc'at the point where it is applied, leaving a tint corresponding very nearly 0 with the color of the pyroxyline composition, free from pigment; This tint closely resembles that of the grain-lines of ivory. I have found that by using proper care the acid may I be applied in a minute line to the celluloid, 5 dissolving or otherwise changing a minute quantity of pigment, and yet leave a distinct and well-defined line upon, the surface. Of course the greater the quantity of pigment ex- I tractcd the more pronounced will be the tint. 10o

In order to assure the application of the acid in the proper design, and to prevent, by accident or otherwise, the discoloration of other parts of the surface, I have invented a method of treating thearticle, which consists in coating the surface with wax or other material having the property of resisting the action of the acid employed. I have found that paraifiue-wax and in a less degree beeswas and others are capable of use when nitric or sulphuric acid is employed. After coating the surface of the celluloid with the wax, preferably in a melted state, and after it has cooled, I cut into the same with an ordinary engraving-tool the design which I desire to produce upon the celluloid. In this proceeding theinstrumentshouldpassentirely through the wax coating; but it is preferable that it shall not cut into the celluloid. The acid is then applied to the entire surface, and will attack the exposed parts of the celluloid without discoloring the parts covered by the wax coating. The wax is provided merely for the purpose of protecting the surface of the celluloid, and may be applied in many ways hesides the one above described, and may consist.

of other material than wax, the essential requirement being that it shall resist the action of the acid.

It may be found desirable, where another design besides graining is to be applied, to form the design upon paper, cutting it out in the necessary outline and besmearing/one surface with paraffine-wax or other acid-resist and then applying it to the celluloid surface. Any medium of this nature having the characteristic of resisting the actionof the acid, which I therefore prefer to designate by the generic term resist, will come within the scope of my invention.

After the acid has remained for a sufficient length of time upon the ccllnloid,it is washed off with water, and then the resist is removed by rubbing it with a light oil or otherwise. The celluloid may then be polished in the usual manner. As the acid does not affect the pyroszyliue proper, but only the coloring-matter, no indentation results from my process, but the surface is perfectly smooth. M

It is sometimes desirable to apply a design as well as an imitation of grain to the celluloid surface, which'may readily bedone by first grainiiig it according to my process, removing the resist, and then applying a new resist and design outline.

A third feature of my invention relates to the decoration of celluloid surfaces with designs which shall have positive colors. To accomplish this result'I employa resist which shall have the power'of resisting the action of the acid, sulphuric ether, or other solvent used for the color, and out out of the resist the design which it is desired shall appear. The coloring-matter is then applied to the entire surface, or so much thereof as may be thought advisable, and enters the unprotected surface of the celluloid, dissolving or otherwise changing the same and combining therewith without afiecting the protected portion. After a sufiicient time has elapsed the surplus of coloring-matter and the resist are washed off, leaving a permanent design upon the celluloid surface. It may bedesirable to remove part of the pigment contained in the celluloid before coloring,which may'readily be done by applying the acid as above described.

XVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 4 1. The process of decorating celluloid containing a pigment or coloring-matter, which consists in applying to the surface of the same in proper design an acid having the properly of dissolving the pigment or coloringnnattcr, substantially as described.

2. The process of treating a celluloid article containing a pigment to decorate the same, which eonsistsin coating the entire surface of the article with a resist not affected by the solvents of the pigment, removing part of the resist in the desired design, and then applying a solvent for the pigment,substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

3. The process herein described of applying a design in colors to celluloid containing a pigment, which consists in coating the surface with a resist, cutting out the resist so as to exposctothe celluloid thcproperdcsigu,applying asolvent of the pigment to the exposed celluloid, removing said solvent and then applying coloring-matter,with or withont'a new resist.

4. As a ncw article of manufacture, a celluloid composition having a superficial decoration in imitation of the grain of ivory, substantially as dwcribcd.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. MQCLELLAND.

\Vitnesscs:

E. D. GRANT, H. I). Pumas. 

